Recently we have begun to see our values continue to align outside of our shared housing priorities.

As we work to bring affordable fresh produce to Portlanders as part of our Healthy Portland and 1,000 Gardens Initiatives, PCRI is accomplishing similar goals with their Healthy Food Access Initiative.

A major goal of PCRI's Healthy Food Access Initiative is to enable any resident who wants to grow their own food to do so. This comes as a challenge since many residents live in multifamily units without access to their own gardens.

To combat this challenge, PCRI has partnered with the Albina Cooperative Garden. The garden is unique from many other community gardens in that it is a collaborative effort between those involved. This allows gardeners to give time as they can, and reap the bounty in a time frame that makes sense for working families.

PCRI is making healthy eating more accessible this Summer with the Healthy Eating and Living (HEAL) Camp. Heal Campers will take part in cooking classes, gardening classes, and outdoor sports and adventures. They will develop the tools and knowledge helpful to making healthy lifestyle choices, like knowing where their food comes from and fun summer-time games.

In addition, PCRI is currently pursuing two community-based strategies to increase healthy food access in the long-term: a self-supporting mobile grocer enterprise and a program that reduces the barriers for low-income families and individuals to grow their own food. In June, the Spirit Mountain Community Fund awarded PCRI $40,000 to support these pioneering projects!